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The Forgotten Warrior/Chapter 23
Chapter description :Lionblaze exits the warriors’ den, padding over to where cats are gathering around Firestar. This moon, he has been invited to go with his Clanmates. As he approaches the leader, he hears the ginger tabby state that he will not mention WindClan’s threat at tonight’s Gathering. Murmurs of uncertainty arise from the crowd, and Firestar clarifies that they have not seen Sol in ThunderClan territory for over a moon, which leaves no reason for Onestar to attack them. Lionblaze silently agrees with his leader, but part of him wishes that the other leader would be called to account of his outburst of hostility. Jayfeather and Cinderheart emerge from the medicine cats’ den, and padding over to a group of warriors. The blind tom tells her to stay with Lilykit, who has a fever. Cinderheart is briefly disappointed, but then heads back to the medicine cat den. :As he watches Cinderheart leave, Lionblaze thinks that Lilykit would be better off without a medicine cat hovering over her. The golden tabby states to Jayfeather that he doesn't want to make awkward explanations about Cinderheart's new role. The medicine cat growls and says that she isn't the first person to switch roles. Lionblaze responds by saying that she is the first cat to be another cat. Jayfeather opens his jaws to reply, but Firestar raises his tail and beckons for the cats to follow him. The ThunderClan cats follow him out the thorn tunnel, heading towards the lakeshore. As they travel, Lionblaze finds himself walking beside Graystripe and Millie. He asks them how they liked the training session in the tunnels today. The golden tom admits that he himself doesn’t like fighting in the dark, and would rather be able to see his opponent. Millie agrees with him, and Graystripe comforts his mate by saying that fighting underground is unnatural, just like Sol. The gray warrior is confused by what Sol’s motive might be, as he tries to befriend someone them betray them. :Whitewing catches up to them, meowing that Sol knew that the sun was going to vanish, and thinks he has more power than anyone. Lionblaze snorts, knowing that nobody has the power to challenge him when it comes to battle. He thinks about when he helped Sol escape from ThunderClan several moons ago, wanting to punish the loner for it. The golden tabby is struck with the idea that Sol may be involved with the Dark Forest, and moves to tell Jayfeather about it. Lionblaze pads over to his brother, telling him his recent conclusions. The medicine cat shrugs, conceding that it’s possible, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true. :ThunderClan arrives at the Gathering, entering into a tension filled atmosphere. Lionblaze notices that the medicine cats seem extremely hostile, sitting loosely at the base of the Great Oak. He thinks that every group is standing alone, and it’s especially bad since the healers of each Can aren’t talking. Lionblaze notices that Mothwing is the only medicine cat trying to speak with her peers, but she soon gives up and sits next to Willowshine. The rest of the cats settle within their own Clans, skipping the mingling part of each Gathering. Lionblaze sits down, starting to look for signs of cats knowing each other in the Dark Forest. Once alerted, he sees plenty of signals exchanged between trainees from the shadowy forest from Redwillow, Breezepelt, Ivypool, Icewing, Tigeheart, and Hollowflight. Lionblaze is chilled by the fact that they know each other so well, but assures himself that not every cat is being trained by unseen enemies. :Lionblaze is distracted from thoughts of the Dark Forest when he notices Crowfeather among the WindClan cats, staring at Hollyleaf. His mate, Nightcloud, follows his gaze and snarls at the black she-cat. Hollyleaf turns away from them, telling Lionblaze that part of the reason she didn’t come back until now is because of the rumors and gossip. The golden tabby swallows his annoyance, silently thinking that he and Jayfeather had to deal with that while she was away. Lionblaze wraps his tail around her shoulders, and Mistystar starts the meeting moments later. The RiverClan leader reports that her Clan has had some problems with Twolegs, like every greenleaf, but have been able to avoid them. Reedwhisker jokes that Twolegs couldn’t catch a fish if it leaped out of the water and begged to be caught. Mistystar gives her deputy an amused glance, moving to sit back down. Firestar speaks up next, stating that Hollyleaf has returned to ThunderClan, and the Clan has welcomed her. Cats begin to murmur, but none ask questions and only comment on the ginger tabby’s announcement. Firestar refuses to answer to any of the chatter, dipping his head to let another leader take his place. :Onestar starts speaking from his branch next, saying to Firestar that any Clan leader would welcome back a loyal, trained warrior. The WindClan leader continues that his Clan will remain vigilant with their patrols to keep out rogues and strays. Lionblaze’s belly churns, knowing that Onestar is deliberately calling ThunderClan a ragtag group. He glances up at Firestar, and can tell his leader is struggling to remain civil. Onestar sits down, and Blackstar takes his place. The ShadowClan tom seems confused by the hostility between ThunderClan and WindClan, but seems to shrug it off. Blackstar makes a quick announcement that ShadowClan has been dealing with problems from Twolegs, like RiverClan, but remain largely unaffected. The white tom moves to sit down, but Dawnpelt requests to speak. Blackstar dips his head, and the cream she-cat leaps up onto a tree stump with ruffled fur. She declares to every cat that there is a murderer among them, and the clearing plummets into silence. Dawnpelt points her tail at Jayfeather, accusing him of murdering Flametail. The cats in the clearing explode into yowls and screeches of horror. Above the noise, Brambleclaw meows that every cat grieves for the dead medicine cat, but asks how Jayfeather is involved. :Dawnpelt hisses that they shouldn’t believe the ThunderClan medicine cat’s story that he was trying to save Flametail. She states that every cat saw both struggling in the water together, but many cats protest that Jayfeather had no motive. Lionblaze is enraged, but Hollyleaf reminds him that ShadowClan would be thrilled if he broke the truce. The golden tabby sits down, remembering that this is a Gathering. Jayfeather admits that while he was present at Flametail’s death, but that it is a tragedy that he failed to save him. The blind tom points out that he had no reason to kill him, and the water would’ve killed him on it’s own. Cats begin to come up with alternate conclusions, but Firestar announces that this accusation is groundless, and asks the other leaders for their opinions. The other three cats sitting on the Great Oak look uncomfortable, offering weak arguments in favor of Jayfeather. Lionblaze is angry at their responses, and he looks around to see that Dawnpelt seems to have shrunk in the wake of her accusation. Tigerheart announces that he believes his sister, and that Jayfeather must be punished. Dovewing draws in a gasp of horror, and Firestar replies that he will not punish a cat for an unproven crime. :Onestar reluctantly suggests that perhaps Jayfeather should be suspended of his medicine cat duties, until proven innocent. Mistystar agrees, adding that with StarClan’s help, it might not take long. The medicine cats confer together as well, agreeing that this is a sensible solution, as Flametail has not told them how he was killed. Jayfeather angrily states that they all have had messages from their ancestors telling them to stand alone. He announces that the other medicine cats have no right to tell him what to do, and he will remain ThunderClan’s medicine cat. Gasps fill the clearing, but lightning quickly crackles down from the sky, signaling StarClan’s disapproval. Every cat begins to flee, and Lionblaze goes to help Jayfeather. The golden tabby reaches his brother, hearing Dawnpelt hiss that this isn’t over. Lionblaze notices that the cats had divided by Clan lines when lightning struck, even though their leaders are yowling for control. He thinks that this is the worst time for this, as every Clan needs to stand together to fight a bigger enemy. Characters }} Minor *Jayfeather *Cinderheart *Graystripe *Millie *Whitewing *Kestrelflight (Unnamed) *Mothwing *Willowshine *Redwillow *Breezepelt *Icewing *Ivypool *Tigerstar *Hollowflight *Crowfeather *Nightcloud *Hollyleaf *Mistystar *Reedwhisker *Onestar *Blackstar *Dawnpelt *Brambleclaw *Dovewing *Ratscar *Rowanclaw *Littlecloud }} Mentioned *Lilykit *Sorreltail *Birchfall *Hazeltail *Ashfur *Leafpool *Flametail }} Notes and references Category:Omen of the Stars arc Category:Chapter subpages Category:The Forgotten Warrior